How the tide rushes in
by theladywithapen
Summary: "Isn't it odd how one person will just appear in your life and change it forever?" Young Jack Sparrow came across a girl who brought a light to his life that ultimately destroyed it. Ten years later she reappears. Can old wounds ever be healed? (Jack x OC)
1. Chapter 1: Prelude

**_Hello and welcome to my new fic! If you like it please comment down below if you have any suggestion/opinions._**

 ** _Happy reading!_**

It was a still night tonight, as if the world held its breath in anticipation.

Jack Sparrow sat in the dark inn, looking at the sputtering candle on the heavy wooden table: his coffee eyes glazed over in remembrance.

"Captain" a clear voice interrupted him, Jack looked up too see a woman of exceeding beauty; with heavy dark eyes, a strong face and golden hair. A jagged grin spread across his face

"Elizabeth" he said boldly before getting up and giving a frivolous bow. The woman laughed

"You look different" Jack's hair was tucked up in a plain black hat, his beard was un-braided and he wore plain clothing

"'ave to keep hidden m'dear, incognito n' all" he said, winking before sitting down, Elizabeth sat across him with a groan, her hand resting on her ever-larger stomach. "Little one givin' you trouble?" Jack asked while the bar maid handed them two ales.

"He never wants to sit still" she sighed

"Takes after his Pa then" he joked, Elizabeth laughed but there was a distinctive sadness in those strong eyes. Jack squeezed her hand "Chin up, love" he said with a sympathetic smile. The two talked for a time, Jack joked and Elizabeth answered with her usual wit. Despite their differences the two had stayed connected, maybe because they were the only people who truly felt the gap that had been left by Will Turner. Even though Jack would never admit it- he missed the man.

"Come up with any names yet?" he asked

"Yes" Elizabeth's hand rose to her belly and she gave a soft smile "William if I have a boy" Jack nodded and gave a grunt of approval "and Catherine if I have a girl" Jack froze

"Catherine?" he repeated "Why Catherine?"

"It was my mother's name" Elizabeth said confused "Is something the matter, Jack?" Jack coughed and straightened himself

"Nothin', love" he gave a grin. "Anyways" he continued "I brought a mate over for you"

Elizabeth raised a thin eyebrow as Jack whistled at a nearby table, a grey haired man with mutton chops of about sixty approached.

"Gibbs!" Elizabeth exclaimed before hugging the barrel-chested man

"Mrs Turner" he responded politely

"We'll have none of that Gibbs" Elizabeth commanded "It's Elizabeth to you" Gibbs chuckled and nodded before joining them.

"Well" Jack said "now that we're all good n' settled how 'bout I get us some drinks then?" the two others nodded and Jack motioned at one of the barmaids

"Get us some drinks, love" he said "Rum"

"Yessir" she said before walking off

"So how long until your little one decides to make an appearance?" Gibbs asked

"The midwife tells me two months or so" she said "At this point I just want to be over with the whole thing"

"Birth in the hurricane season, eh?" Gibbs commented

"Oi, nothin' wrong with being born in a storm" Jack interjected "Children born in storms are lucky, you know" he continued

"Bollocks" Gibbs retorted "you're only saying that cause ye was born in a bleeding typhoon, Jack"

"That has nothing to do with it mate, it is the truth"

"Oh, indeed?" Elizabeth asked sarcastically

"Not at all" He responded "When 'ave I ever lied to you?"

"Do you want me to answer that?" Jack laughed.

They were interrupted by a smack and a yelp

"Fucking bitch!" a low drunken voice yelled. Jack turned and saw a tall blonde man standing over a thin woman in a marigold dress, he then grabbed the woman by her red hair and dragged her outside.

. Elizabeth stood up and followed them, Jack caught her in a firm grip

"What are you doing?" he asked hastily

"What does it look like?" Elizabeth responded sarcastically "I'm going to help her"

"In your condition?" Jack responded bemused "What can you do? You ain't Pirate King no more, love"

"Well, unlike some people, I like to do the right thing "

"Well, unlike some people, I like to avoid having my face smashed in"

They were distracted by another yell from outside and Elizabeth marched forward

"Gibbs" Jack called "I may need your assistance- this could get ugly" he said before following her

Elizabeth was standing in front of the man, her face coldly set in stone determination. The woman was sprawled out on the floor, her red curls covering her face.

"Fuck do you want?" the man slurred "this is none of your business"

"You'd raise your hand to a woman?" Elizabeth asked impudently

"don't start with me" he retorted "I got plenty left in me". Jack grabbed Elizabeth

"Let me deal with this" he said to her strongly

"I'm not helpless," she protested

"You ain't, but that baby inside you is" she nodded reluctantly and marched out of the drunkard's reach. Jack gritted his teeth and breathed

"Now, mate" he said smiling "what might the matter be?"

"She owes me money" the man grunted "won't pay back, I offered her another form of payment" he spat "and the bitch whacked me"

"How much money we talkin' about, mate?"

"Dozen shillings"

"Jesus" Jack muttered as he reached for his purse. He looked inside the leather pouch and counted out some coins "Should be enough there, and I'll give you more if you leave right now, savvy?"

"Why the fuck should I?" the man spat "I don't have to listen to you" Jack reached for his gun

"Because, mate" he said as he held to weapon to the man's pink forehead "if you don't a shiny little bullet is going to find a new home in that thick skull of yours" The man eyed the weapon and swallowed, trying to continue his façade of power, he smirked and said

"Like you'd actually do such a thing" sweat beads appeared on his face

"Oh, I would, mate" Jack said as he lifted his right hand, showing him the scar on his wrist.

"You're a pirate, and?"

"Not just a pirate, mate" Jack grinned and clicked his gun "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, you may 'ave heard of me"

The man looked at Jacks hand, then his gun and back to his face. Assessing his options, the man snatched the coins, looked at them, and satisfied he shuffled out into the street.

Elizabeth helped the woman up and asked her

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine" came an oddly familiar voice

"You're bleeding" stated Elizabeth as she pulled out a white handkerchief spotted with roses and held it to the woman's temple.

"You really got yourself into some trouble, love" Jack said as he walked over to Elizabeth's side to face the woman.

Two pale green eyes sat in a square freckled face, a short nose, two thin pink lips and a tumble of light red curls; in that moment Jack swore his heart stopped working. Looking in her eyes, Jack felt all the blood drain from his face.

"Cat?" he asked unbelieving. She blinked at him, her eyes burning into him

"Jack?" Elizabeth interrupted "who is this?"

"Cat?" Jack asked as he saw her body disappear in the street.

His legs moved before his mind did as he ran after her, as he ran in some boxes and tumbled. He regained balance and continued the chase. It was a clouded night and his eyes strained to follow her, despite her petite frame she was fast. He chased the hollow sound of her feet smashing against stone cobbles through the dark allies of Port Royal.

"Cat!" he called into the shadows "Don't you run from me!". Silence answered him.

Fate, however, seemed to be on his side as she ran into a dead end of grey brick wall. She stopped and turned to face him, Jack slowed and walked towards her as she looked at him, blankly.

"Cat?"

"Cap'n" she said softy. And her breathing hitched, her eyes rolled back and she collapsed on the stones. Jack tired to reach out and grab her, but he was too far away and her head smashed into the brick.

Back in the Inn the awkward silence that had followed the encounter had ended and the usual bustle of drunken voices continued. Elizabeth turned to Gibbs, who had been quite pale for some time now.

"Gibbs" she said and the man snapped out of his trance "who was that girl?"

"I don't know" he responded

"Why did Jack know her name then?" she questioned harshly

"That wasn't Cat… it can't be" he stammered

"Who was Cat?" Elizabeth quietly

"She was… well, Cat" he shrugged "I can't describe her, you'd understand if you could meet her."

"Did Jack love her?" Gibbs jumped at her words

"How did you-"

"You saw that look Jack had" Elizabeth cut in "and Jack wouldn't chase after just any woman"

"He did…" Gibbs said looking at his hands

"And why can't that girl be who Jack thinks she is?"

"because Cat has been dead for ten years."


	2. Chapter 2: Prelude part II

The stars shone brightly in a clear sky as Elizabeth waited in the drawing room of her late father's mansion, the orange glow from dripping candles reflected in the glass of the tall French windows. Elizabeth looked out at the gardens while she rested her hands on her stomach.

"How long has he been?" Jack asked from the other end of the room for the third time. His voice has heavy and his words were slurred, for not only had he helped himself to Elizabeth's hospitality but also her glass decanter of Port.

"Half an hour" Elizabeth replied, exhausted "You've already asked that"

"Feels like longer" He grumbled before taking another long swig of Port.

"Hand that over" Gibbs motioned to the man. Jack pulled the bottle closer to his chest in a protective manner.

"You ain't going t' drink it" He said in a sluggish tone.

"You shouldn't either, you've drunk enough" Gibbs said walking over to him. Jack gave a short bark of laughter.

"I think I've drunk just the right amount for the situation" Jack said in his usual playful tone. Startlingly quick for a man of his size Gibbs snatched the bottle from Jack's grasp. In response, Jack stood to look at the man in the eye, he was a full head taller than Gibbs and at least two decades his younger, but the shorter and older man did not flinch.

"Give it back" Jack said in a dulled tone. Gibbs did not move. "That is an order from your Captain, Gibbs."

"Drinking won't change the fact that she's dead, Jack." Gibbs said looking down. Jack galled at the response and took a step back, his face flashing from shock, to confusion and finally to rage all more quickly than the time it takes to explain it. With dark eyes Jacks hand flew up to strike his friend but then stopped and fell limp to his side.

The knock at the door was quiet, but it might as well have been a shock of thunder the way it made the rooms occupants jump.

"Next door" Elizabeth said quickly as she pushed herself up and walked to the door. The two men pointedly ignored each other and slipped into the adjoining library. Elizabeth opened the white panelled door and let the grim looking doctor walk in.

"Doctor Drayton" Elizabeth said calmly as the stern man walked in "how is she?"

"Well, Mrs. Turner, your…" the doctor paused "Cousin, wasn't it?"

"Yes Doctor" Elizabeth replied quickly

"and how did she come by her injuries?" the gears in Elizabeth's mind turned quickly as she fabricated a lie

"Catherine has recently come from Bath, Doctor. I am afraid that she is not used to the climate here, this evening she fainted due to the heat and fell down our staircase. She has a delicate disposition and has had difficulties with her health since she was a child; I invited her here as her doctor recommended that a warm climate would be good for her lungs." Elizabeth had never been on the stage, but she considered herself an actress of sorts since she had played many parts during her life, from a dirty pirate to a graceful magistrate's daughter, so she felt that her performance was convincing enough.

"She has had a serve head injury" Doctor Drayton continued "and a slight concussion. She also has several bruises along her left ribcage." He paused "She is incredibly thin, if I did not know any better I'd wager that she is malnourished."

 _Damn,_ Elizabeth thought, _I should have guessed that._

"However, I will assume this is due to the fact she was a sickly child" the Doctor continued "I recommend that Catherine has a week of bed rest with hearty meals, such as stew and beef tea. She should also eat lots of red meat too."

The sudden abrupt noise of a thud that came from the next room made Elizabeth flinch, but the stern doctor stayed still. His eyes were the only mobile part of his body, they flicked to the door to the room where Jack and Gibbs were meant to be hiding.

"The servants are redecorating the library" Elizabeth spewed quickly, for she did not want her family physician to fund out she was sheltering two wanted men in her house. Dr Drayton's grey eyes flicked back to her.

"I will arrange for the food you suggest, doctor" Elizabeth continued, the doctor made a noise of agreement

"Good, then I shall bid you good night, Mrs. Turner." Elizabeth nodded and held out his payment

"Dr Drayton" the thin, grey man nodded and bowed before turning a striding out of the room.

After she was positive he was out of hearing shot she opened the white door to the library; a grim-faced Gibbs and a Jack with the beginnings of a bruise walked out of into the room.

"What the hell was that?" Elizabeth spat at the two men

"Jack tried to start drinking again" Gibbs said solidly "he wouldn't listen to reason." At this Jack gave out an almost hysterical laugh and then the full heat of Elizabeth's fury was turned on Jack.

"And what is the matter with you?" she demanded "acting like of spoilt schoolboy, why are you being so irrational" Jack looked her in the eye but stayed silent "Answer me you dammed fool!" she was almost screaming in the man's face.

"What else am I supposed to do?" he asked with a wry smile "I'm the drunken fool, am I not?" Jack said with an edge to his voice that Elizabeth had never heard before. "What would you do in my situation?" Jack gave a rough gesture to Gibbs "I know he told you about Cat already"

Elizabeth stood still, the fire of fury had been doused but Jack's cold remarks.

"Gibbs did tell me the truth about her" Jack gave a bark of noise that could have been laughter

"Gibbs couldn't have told you the truth" he spat "He barely knew her"

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked as Jack shuffled over to his chair and collapsed into it

"I was still in the navy back in those days" Gibbs explained

"Gibbs only saw her a handful of times" Jack said. Elizabeth lowered herself into the adjacent couch.

"I know enough Jack, I know that she's dead" Jack's eyes clouded over

"Then how do you explain" Jack paused and gestured upstairs to where the unknown woman was staying "That."

"She's just some poor sod, Jack" Gibbs shrugged "A pretty girl who looks like her that's all" Jack shook his head

"before she collapsed she call me Captain" He said

"You announced that in front for her!" Gibbs exclaimed "nothing you say I going to change the fact that's she's gone"

"I knew that" Jack answered harshly "but she is Cat, she speaks the same, looks the same, walks the same"

"What did Cat look like?" Elizabeth interjected. Jack's coffee eyes glazed over in memory

"Cat had curly red hair, not the dark kind mind you. Her hair light, like the colour of the sky right before sunrise" Jack gave a soft chuckle "Never had a tongue for describing things" he shrugged "Her eyes were pale green and round. She had pale skin, it would burn quickly in the sun and then turn brown. Some days she looked like a bleedin' cooked lobster." A faint smile spread over his mouth, so faint he didn't even realise he was wearing it "Her face and body was covered in light brown freckles, she even had them on her legs. She had long fingers, her hands weren't soft like a lady's; they were hard from years of hard work but smooth. She had a dark mole right below the outside corner of her left eye" He point to the spot on his own face to demonstrate the point "Her teeth were crooked, and she was missing this one" Jack opened his mouth and touched the second incisor on the right side of his stained and golden teeth "it got knocked out in a fight" Jack sighed "beside that she was thin as a whip and about the height of my chest, need to know anything else?" The look in Jack's eye had gone and he stood up and shook himself. And then turned to the door.

"Where you going?' Gibbs asked

"Nature calls" Jack said dully as he walked out the room.

This was not the first-time Jack lied to Gibbs, nor would it be the last. Jack slowly walked up the sweeping staircase and into one of the spare chambers. Inside there was a vanity, wardrobe, and a large four-poster bed dominating the centre of the room. The bed was not unoccupied, however, deeply breathing lay his mysterious woman. Jack stuck a match and lit a candle, he lifted to her. Her eyes her shut and she was deep in the throes of sleep. He cautiously touched her forehead, warm but not burning. Next, he lifted her red curls and a deep purpling ugly bruise swelled revealed itself. He removed his hand and pulled a chair away from the vanity and towards the bed. He then sat and looked at the woman. He didn't move and made no sound as the memories danced in his head.


End file.
